Trade unions and employee participation

Trade unions are recognised by AECI as legitimate stakeholders in its businesses and formal recognition agreements are in place with major chemical industry trade unions, namely the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), the South African Chemical Workers Union (SACWU), the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), Solidarity and the National Employees Trade Union (NETU) at various employment centres across the country. These unions participate in consultative and negotiation structures such as Management/Shop Stewards’ Consultative Forums, Employment Equity and Skills Development Steering Committees, and Safety, Health and Environment Committees that deal with issues affecting employees’ interests.

With the exception of Heartland, all AECI businesses in South Africa are members of the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry (NBCCI). Substantive collective agreements for the bargaining unit are negotiated on an annual basis with representative trade unions, under the auspices of the Industrial Chemical Sector.

Senior Industrial Relations Managers from AECI participate in this forum as employer representatives.

MINING SERVICES

Several dispute referrals to the NBCCI occurred in the year. As a result, the NBCCI scheduled a relationship-building intervention where it was established that inter-union rivalry still prevails. An action plan was developed to assist in re-establishing relationships. The dispute with regard to the definition of the bargaining unit remains unresolved.

A number of meetings were held in the latter half of 2010 regarding the anticipated Section 189(A) of the Labour Relations Act downsizing in AEL’s manufacturing environment. The process is being facilitated by an external party contracted through a private dispute resolution agency. Union demands include increased ex gratia retrenchment packages, permanency of temporary employees, training and development, and share scheme options. It is expected that the consultation process will be completed in the first half of 2011.

SPECIALTY CHEMICALS

National substantive wage negotiations were conducted under the auspices of the NBCCI. Despite challenges and the pressure of a compressed negotiation period to finalise negotiations before the FIFA World Cup, settlement was reached by the parties within the set period, without any interruption to work.

The planned restructuring of Plastamid and the closure of its factory at Elsies Rivier resulted in the transfer of the finance, administration, warehouse and trading business to Industrial Urethanes and unavoidable reductions in manpower.

A dispute was declared by SACWU and CEPPWAWU as representative trade unions against Akulu Marchon and Chemserve Systems at the Group’s Chloorkop site regarding wage gaps between employees. The dispute resulted in four weeks of protected industrial action. The dispute was resolved after a mediation process conducted by the Chemical Industry Bargaining Council.

PROPERTY

Activity in the industrial relations arena was very limited. Whilst Heartland’s unionised workforce is employed at Umbogintwini and is not party to the Chemical Sector Bargaining Council, in-house agreements provide for the alignment of annual wage adjustments to follow awards agreed to within the Council.

Joint union (SACWU and NETU) and management consultations take place on a quarterly basis and this has resulted in the evolution of a mature approach to resolving matters of mutual interest. Formal disciplinary action was applied in five separate cases, with no resultant terminations, due to misconduct or referrals in terms of the Labour Relations Act. No formal grievance issues were initiated in the year.